Eibach spring install???

Shakerhood said:

I have the Correct Ford Spring Compressor, it has 2 flat plates that fit in the coils and the threaded rod comes out the bottom through the hole in the Lower A Arm, it really makes the job easier! Good Luck on your car.

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Wise man here. A clam-style compressor is the way to go (like the special tool he used).

For an internal compressor, I had to use a shim (piece of plumbing pipe) under the head of the compressor or else the compressor rod would bottom out in the frame before I compressed the spring enough. I also had to unbolt the butterflies and manually attach them in the spring and then bolt the butterflies back up. It was a relative pain.

You could consult MFE's write up for ancillary info, if you wanted.

Good luck.

Glad you are ok! I treat springs with kid-gloves, like you are, just for that reason (when actually unperching them, I kind of hide and use a long pry bar to pull them out. LOL).

That is one nice thing about the MFE method - it seems to me that if the spring let go, it would go toward the center of the car. And retaining the spring to the frame is always good, no matter the method (chain, cable, etc have been used).

Good luck bud and stay safe!

I've done several sets of springs and never used a compressor
In the back i jacked the car up and put jackstands under the body and a jack on the rear end (with minimal pressure on rear end) then stuck another jack under one LCA and removed the bolt that holds the LCA to the rear axle, lower the jack down and spring falls right out! Stick the new spring in and raise the jack back up until the bolt hole lines up....then do the other side. It takes me about 15 minutes per side on the rear now after lots of practice!!

The front is a piece of cake also:

Raise front end off the ground pretty high. place jackstands under K member (not A arms) remove front wheels. remove brake caliper, and tie rod end nut and beat tie rod off of spindle, place a jack under A arm. remove the 2 large nut/bolts holding strut to the spindle and then lower the A arm! pull spring out, it shouldn't have much pressure left in it when the A arm is lowered, but it doesn't hurt to push the A arm down as far as you can with your foot. Put the new spring into the upper and lower pockets and slowly raise the jack up, making sure the spring is compressing together and not outward toward your head.
I have done this quite a few times and it worked well for me but it does take some caution!!